Japan U23 Side Named to Face Australia U20
Japan Head Coach, Eddie Jones has named his side to take on Australia U20 in the second fixture of their three-match tour to Australia. Kicking off at 17:30 local time (16:30 JST) on Friday, April 11, the match will take place at C.ex Coffs International Stadium in Coffs Harbour. It follows Japan’s solid 31-43 win over the Australian Barbarians last Saturday at the same venue.
Jones will be looking for another strong performance from the group after their impressive turnout against the Aussie Baa-Baas in which they ran out to a 7-43 lead within the first 60 minutes of the match. While the locals put in a strong performance in the final quarter, running in 24 unanswered points, Japan held on to record the first ever win by a Japanese senior men’s side in Australia.
The matchday 23 for this week sees just six changes from their last outing, with two debutants moving into the starting forward pack, while the remaining four players come onto the reserves bench. The most notable aspect of the team selection is that Jones has stuck with the same starting backline that equipped themselves so well in the opening match against the Baa-Baas.
The speed and accuracy of Japan’s play, both in the forwards and the backs, was a stunning example of Jones’ vision of Chosoku or ‘super-fast rugby’. A term coined by the Brave Blossom’s Head Coach, it represents a style of play which he wants to see develop across all levels of the game in Japan, with its ultimate expression being seen in Japan’s national teams.
Commenting ahead of the team selection, Japan Head Coach Eddie Jones said:
“Against the Baa-Baas, 70% of our tries came from turnover ball. We know that to win at this level, Japan’s general problem has always been defence. If you look at the history of games between Japan and teams in Australia or elsewhere in the world, the problem is not scoring points, it’s stopping the opposition from scoring points. We’ve done a lot of work on our defence, but there is still more progress to be made. We will look to prioritise setting an aggressive defensive line that then creates opportunities for us to attack.”
Following their match against Australia U20, the tourists will head south to Sydney to face famous club side, Randwick at the iconic Coogee Oval on Tuesday, April 15. Known affectionately as the Galloping Greens, Randwick holds a rich history in Sydney’s elite Shute Shield club rugby competition, producing Wallaby legends such as the Ella brothers, David Campese, Matt Giteau and George Gregan. It was also the club where Eddie Jones started both his playing and coaching careers.
The Japan U23 vs Australia U20 fixture will be streamed live on NSWRugbyTV.com.au and
via WOWOW On Demand and catch-up at https://wod.wowow.co.jp/genre/rugby from 16:20 JST on Friday, April 11.
*(C) Team Captain
| No | Name | Club Team | Graduate | Height cm | Weight kg | DOB |
| 1 | Sojiro OTSUKA | Kwansei Gakuin Univ. | Kwansei Gakuin Senior HS | 178 | 110 | 2004/7/5 |
| 2 | Kenshin SHIMIZU (C) | Waseda Univ. | Kokugakuin Kugayama HS | 178 | 105 | 2004/12/27 |
| 3 | Yuta HATTA | Kyoto Sangyo Univ. | Joto HS | 185 | 115 | 2004/4/5 |
| 4 | Shuntaro ISOBE | Tsukuba Univ. | Kokugakuin Kugayama HS | 190 | 108 | 2004/7/14 |
| 5 | Yotaro MONOBE | Meiji Univ. | Chubu Univ. Haruhigaoka HS | 192 | 116 | 2004/9/28 |
| 6 | Chuka ISHIBASHI | Kyoto Sangyo Univ. | Hotoku Gakuen HS | 190 | 102 | 2004/4/10 |
| 7 | Manato NAKAMORI | Tsukuba Univ. | Toin Gakuen HS | 190 | 93 | 2005/12/24 |
| 8 | Miuaustin MORIYAMA | Toyo Univ. | Meguro Gakuin HS | 183 | 102 | 2003/9/23 |
| 9 | Joji TAKAKI | Kyoto Sangyo Univ. | Higashi Fukuoka HS | 168 | 71 | 2004/9/11 |
| 10 | Ryunosuke ITO | Meiji Univ. | Kokugakuin Univ. Tochigi HS | 172 | 77 | 2004/11/20 |
| 11 | Eito SHIRAI | Meiji Univ. | Toin Gakuen HS | 178 | 83 | 2005/10/22 |
| 12 | Shota TAIRA | Meiji Univ. | Higashi Fukuoka HS | 178 | 94 | 2003/11/18 |
| 13 | Shuho FUKUSHIMA | Waseda Univ. | Shuyukan HS | 183 | 90 | 2003/5/22 |
| 14 | Kenzo TANAKA | Waseda Univ. | Toin Gakuen HS | 172 | 75 | 2005/8/7 |
| 15 | Jingo TAKENOSHITA | Meiji Univ. | Hotoku Gakuen HS | 180 | 86 | 2004/6/11 |
| 16 | Kyoya TANAKA | Ritsumeikan Univ. | Higashi Fukuoka HS | 175 | 95 | 2005/9/14 |
| 17 | Airo SUGIMOTO | Waseda Univ. | Kokugakuin Kugayama HS | 178 | 106 | 2004/9/23 |
| 18 | Takumi YAMAGUCHI | Meiji Univ. | Ryutsu Keizai Univ. Kashiwa HS | 180 | 120 | 2005/3/29 |
| 19 | Shusui KAMEI | Meiji Univ. | Nagasaki Hokuyodai HS | 191 | 90 | 2004/10/27 |
| 20 | Koki MIYASHITA | Hosei Univ. | Hotoku Gakuen HS | 185 | 100 | 2003/12/22 |
| 21 | Yamato MURATA | Kyoto Sangyo Univ. | Hotoku Gakuen HS | 168 | 73 | 2004/10/15 |
| 22 | Kengo NONAKA | Waseda Univ. | Tokai Univ. Osaka Gyosei HS | 180 | 93 | 2003/4/29 |
| 23 | Shunsuke UENOBO | Tenri Univ. | Iwamichisuikan HS | 183 | 86 | 2003/9/29 |
Japan U23 2025 Australian Tour
Saturday 5 April
Australian Barbarians vs Japan U23
Coffs Harbour
31-43 (W)
Friday 11 April
Australian U20 vs Japan U23
17:30 Kick-off (16:30 Japan Time)
Coffs Harbour
Tuesday 15 April
Randwick vs Japan U23
14:00 Kick-off (13:00 Japan Time)
Randwick Rugby Club, Sydney